overdose

The U.S. opioid epidemic is claiming lives at a breakneck pace. More than 52,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2015, according to the CDC – an average of 1 death every 10 minutes. Nearly 33,000 of those deaths involved opioids, including prescription painkillers and heroin. Now we know how the crisis began unfurling: a 101-word letter written by Boston University Medical Center researchers, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. [1] [2]

A study published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says that fewer people are dying from 3 of the 5 leading causes of death in the United States – heart disease, cancer, and stroke. [1] [2]

The state government of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against five drug companies: accusing them of unlawful and unethical marketing practices. These include pursuing undue influence over medical spokesmen and publishing false information. [...]

(Photo: Chris Potter/StockMonkeys.com/Flickr)
The California Senate has voted to ban drug manufacturers from incentivizing doctors with gifts. This was accompanied by evidence that over $1.4 billion was spent last year on gifts to Californian doctors, including expensive meals and airline tickets.

(ANTIMEDIA) The opioid epidemic is a real tragedy. It has been devastating states like West Virginia, Vermont, and Maine — among others — and it’s been the number one factor in a major incarceration shift that is still seldom discussed by the media.

Corporal Mark Hickok, a 23-year-old combat engineer from North Olmstead, Ohio, patrols through a poppy field during a clearing mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. John M. McCall)
(ANALYSIS) — Safety of the people and security of the nation should be priority number one for any leader who wishes to have a successful tenure in office, perhaps even multiple terms — and the President of the United States is no exception to this model.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington. McCaskill is seeking information from manufacturers of the top-selling opioid products in the United States to determine whether drugmakers have contributed to an overuse of the pain killers, with a few very notable exceptions. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

(ANTIMEDIA) As Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to lament what he views as a blight on society, a new study is showing that states with medical marijuana programs are seeing drastic reductions in opioid-related hospitalizations and overdoses.

On March 16, the United Nations (U.N.) added 2 chemicals used to make the painkiller fentanyl to an international list of controlled substances. Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield, the chief U.S. State Department counter-narcotics official, has hailed the move, but acknowledged that it won’t immediately decrease illegal trafficking of the chemicals. [1] [2]
Source: Healthland Heart Region

They "knew what was going on." They just "didn't care."